Virtualization is a computing technique used for creating virtual instances of computing devices rather than physical instances of the computing devices. In hardware virtualization, a host computing device is a physical computing device that hosts virtual (or “guest”) computing devices. Virtualization has been applied not only to computing devices and operating systems, but also to networking and storage systems.
Cloud computing is a term used to refer to a model of computing in which multiple computing devices provide various computing services via a network, e.g., an Intranet or the Internet. Cloud computing commonly employs virtualization to provide “virtual servers.” Enterprises and other entities may use cloud computing instead of deploying data centers or may use cloud computing to provide supplementary “elastic” computing services. Elasticity is a benefit offered by cloud computing in that computing resources can be scaled up or down on the fly without affecting the end user.
Data storage servers, e.g., devices that provide services offered by storage area networks, are increasingly used in private data centers, cloud computing architectures. Moreover, enterprises may have multiple data storage servers (also referred to simply as “storage servers”) in their data center and even multiple data centers. System administrators are commonly called on to provide improved storage services, e.g., by adding, maintaining, or retiring storage servers at appropriate times. However, appropriate management at scale can be difficult. For example, it may be difficult to determine how to configure storage servers to respond to storage demands from users, applications, etc.